Both of my sons have an appointment with an allergist this coming Tuesday, so we've been refraining from using antihistamines this week. And since spring has sprung, this has been a REALLY tough week not to be able to use them. One of my sons is feeling incredibly miserable today...he's currently slumped on the couch in a sea of crumpled kleenex, trying to watch cartoons through puffy, purple rimmed eyes , and I'm wondering how bad it would be to give him a dose of Benadryl? I don't want to interfere with the SPT or RAST results, but he's feeling so rotten?!
He also has a birthday party tomorrow, that he may die of disappointment from not attending, and I've been on the phone a half a dozen times this week with his friend's mom working out safe foods, talking about cross contamination etc. She's going to so much effort to make it safe for my son, it's going to be such a shame if he can't go.
I put in a call to the nurse at the allergist's office, but I haven't heard back yet, so I was hoping someone here might have some input?

_________________1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

In the past, we were told not to use them 48hrs before. I've heard of cases when parents had to give Benadryl, that the tests have been done anyways. I don't really understand how it affects the results, but they would be in a good position to let you know.

Think my allergist just says 2-3 days with no antihistamine before testing, but perhaps your allergist has seen better/clearer results with a longer period without antihistamines. Would rather see you ask the nurse than mess up a testing appointment.

Would be a shame if he's feeling too lousy for the b-day party. One possible non-antihistamine idea - what about getting a nasal mist from the drugstore? It's just a saline solution, but if your son's grief is largely sinus-related, might make enough of a difference for him. I know the NeilMed brand one is even safe for babies...

I heard back from the nurse at our allergist's office (this is a new experience for us, with our old allergist, we would be lucky if we got an answer the following week to a Monday phone call...let alone a call returned the same day, on a Friday no less! I'm impressed .) She said that although they prefer no antihistamines for a week prior to the appointment, they will accept a 3 day minimum, which means I can give him something for the party! Yay! It's his first invite at his new school, his friend's mom is really going above and beyond to make it safe, and it is his first solo invitation ever (meaning without his twin brother, a little bittersweet, but a major twin milestone nonetheless. DH is taking the other guy out for a special afternoon.). So it's a really big deal for him, and I'm so glad he doesn't have to miss it.
Thanks for your suggestion of the nasal mist, Gwen, because we'll still have those 3 days left to contend with. We'll just have to make sure it's safe to use along with Nasonex?

_________________1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

Re nasal mist - don't think I would if you didn't get to ask the nurse. It's only saline water - but both it and Nasonex would be administered up the nose. Not sure if that's advisable. Something to ask them at the appt.

I did not know that you are supposed to avoid antihistamines 1 week before testing! I thought that avoiding antihistamines for 24 hrs would be good enough.

One time, I was tested when I wasn't expecting to be, and I remembered afterwards that I had taken an antihistamine. My arm hived up anyways, and when I asked my allergist if the antihistamine could intefere with the test results, he just laughed at me and told me to look at my arm

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum